Where It Started, Where It Went

When Manmohan Singh (Moni) Minhas, BSc (Eng)’80, arrived in Calgary in 1976, he knew little about the city beyond the Calgary Stampede and the oil and gas industry. He had already travelled halfway around the world from India to British Columbia, so, he figured, “another thousand kilometres would not make much difference.” 

What he could not have known then was that the decision to keep going would shape not just his own path, to founding and building multiple business ventures and but those of his children and the next generation after them. 

“I drove to Calgary and did not know a single soul,” Minhas recalls.

At 22, with a young family and a mechanical engineering degree that did not transfer in Canada, he took work where he could find it for his first year in B.C. Eventually, he was admitted to the University of Calgary as a transfer student from Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, entering third-year engineering at the Faculty of Engineering (now Schulich School of Engineering) and completing the degree over the next two years. 

Even then, Calgary was not an obvious long-term home. After graduating, Minhas took a role with General Electric that allowed him to move across the country. He tried Vancouver first, then Toronto, but neither quite fit. Both felt larger, already established, with clearer and more traditional career paths. 

In Toronto, he saw that path up close. “You will work as an engineer for 10 years,” he recalls being told. “Then you become a senior engineer, then maybe a manager … and, by that time, you have no teeth.” 

Calgary did not follow that same rigidity.  

“Calgary always gave a chance to young people,” Minhas says. 

It was a place where ambition felt possible, where a career did not need to follow a fixed ladder and one’s entrepreneurial spirit could flourish. In his 20s, like many others at that age, he believed he could do more, move faster, build something of his own.  

Calgary, at the time, was a place that made that feel realistic. 

He went on to build a career in oil and gas, spending more than a decade in engineering and senior management roles with Encana Corporation/Pan Canadian Petroleum Limited before shifting into entrepreneurship in the early 1990s.  

In 1993, he made that shift full time, building what would become one of Alberta’s most successful private liquor retail chains at the time, OK Liquor Stores, which he owned until 2005. 

Today, Moni is an entrepreneur and investor, with ventures spanning energy, retail and beverage production. 

More than any single decision, he says what carried forward was a way of thinking: “Work hard, stay grounded, take risks, but take them with purpose.”  

That mindset shaped the environment Minhas’ children grew up in, even if they did not fully recognize it at the time. 

The Path 

For Manjit and Ravinder Minhas, BSc (Eng)’04, UCalgary was never unfamiliar territory. It was home and UCalgary was part of the landscape long before it became part of their own paths, which included the two founding a major brewing company and with Manjit even becoming part of CBC’s Dragon’s Den. 

They grew up in northwest Calgary, close to campus, where university life blended into everyday life. Choosing UCalgary and the Faculty of Engineering felt less like a decision and more like a continuation. 

“It was always in the plans,” says Manjit. 

There were moments of exploration. At one point, she considered medicine, but the fit was not right. Engineering felt more aligned with how she thought and worked. 

“You can have the best plans and intentions, and life happens,” Manjit says. “It takes you in different directions.” 

Both entered engineering during a time when the path ahead appeared clear: Graduate, enter the energy sector, build a stable and successful career. Calgary’s economy supported that trajectory and both gained early experience through internships and roles in industry. 

But, even within that structure, there was always a fluidity toward entrepreneurship. 

“We were open,” Ravinder says. “We didn’t feel locked into one path.” 

That openness was shaped over time, through family and early exposure to business. Their father’s move into liquor retail made entrepreneurship visible and tangible. It was not abstract or theoretical; it was something they had seen up close. 

When opportunity continued to emerge in Alberta’s evolving alcohol industry, they paid attention. 

Building Something 

The shift was not immediate. Both continued along traditional engineering paths, building experience and credibility. Still, the idea of doing something different stayed present.   

In the early 2000s, that idea began to take shape. While still in their 20s, they formally incorporated Mountain Crest Brewing Company, building on early efforts importing private-label spirits and expanding into beer. Establishing their own business was always intense, so much so that, while Ravinder completed his bachelor’s degree in Oil and Gas engineering, Manjit, whose focus was petroleum engineering, chose to focus on the company. 

That early phase required persistence more than scale. Alberta’s privatized system meant there were more than a thousand new independently owned liquor retailers, not a single point of entry. There were no shortcuts, only relationships and repetition. But it also created space for growth. 

“In those days you had to go store by store,” Ravinder says. “You had to grind.” 

“You can’t go with one big brush. You’ve got to go to hundreds of different retailers … but, if you’ve got the grind, they’re willing to give you an opportunity.” 

By their mid-20s, they took a leap that would define the trajectory of their business, acquiring the historic Joseph Huber Brewery in Wisconsin in 2006. The second oldest brewery in America, establish in 1845 and one of the top 10 largest. At the time, they became the youngest brewery owners in the world, a move that reflected a willingness to push beyond a conventional path. 

“We are really good at saying yes more than we say no,” Manjit says. “We say, what’s the worst that can happen?” 

That willingness to step into uncertainty, became a defining characteristic of how they approached entrepreneurship. It opened doors, but it also exposed them to risk and failure. Even when those failures are rarely visible from the outside. 

“People think we’re an overnight success,” Manjit says. “Absolutely not. My brother and I have been at this business for 27 years … we just started young.” 

What followed was not a single breakthrough, but a series of decisions built over time. The businesses they grew came about through consistency, resilience and a long-term view. At the centre of that process were the values they had absorbed at home. 

“Our dad was the bold one,” Manjit says. “Head down, work hard, be honest, be genuine. But, if you’re going to take on an industry, take it on fully.” 

That approach extended beyond business. Over time, both have taken on leadership roles across industry and community, from media and production ventures to influential board positions within Calgary’s broader business and civic landscape. Ravinder serves on the boards of the Independent Agency Police Service (IAPS) Oversight Board and FortisAlberta, a major utility company, and is also a member of the Calgary Stampede Board of Directors. Manjit meanwhile, serves on the board of directors of Enbridge, ATB Financial and The Calgary Airport Authority. 

There was also a clear understanding of what business was, and what it was not. 

“In our house, business was never personal,” Manjit says. “Business is relationships.” 

That distinction shaped how they built their network, how they approached partnerships, and how they thought about growth. It emphasized longevity over short-term gain, and trust over transaction. 

Different Directions 

From that shared foundation, the siblings’ paths began to diverge. 

For Manjit, that meant building first and becoming visible later. Long before her role on Dragons’ Den, she had already helped grow one of the largest independent brewery and distillery operations in North America. Today, as co-founder and CEO, Mountain Crest generates more than $300 million in annual revenue. 

“There was nobody that looked like me in the business world in media,” she says. 

Her role on Dragons' Den began 11 seasons ago and placed her in a public position, one she had not originally set out to pursue but one she recognized as important. Taking the role was about more than exposure. It was about expanding what people could see as possible, particularly for women and for those from similar backgrounds.  

Over time, that visibility has extended beyond television into leadership across industry and community. As a Dragon, Manjit has backed dozens of companies across Canada, building on a track record that was already firmly established before she ever stepped onto the set.  

She has been recognized with Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, Canada’s Top Woman Entrepreneur, the King Charles III Coronation Medal and the United Nations Global Citizen Laureate Award. In 2022, she was appointed Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of the Canadian Armed Forces. 

Ravinder’s path remained more closely tied to operations, growth and diversification. Alongside his sister, he co-founded the business, helping grow it into a company it is today with distribution across Canada, the United States and international markets. 

His work expanded beyond manufacturing into media and community leadership. In 2012, he co-founded Spotlight Television & Film, producing series and documentaries to a variety of broadcasters including CBC, Sportsnet, Amazon Prime, Telus Optik and Omni. All while continuing to diversify and build across business and investment.  

Over time, that work has been recognized through honours such as the Schulich School of Engineering’s Award for Entrepreneurship, the UCalgary’s Graduate of the Decade and Canada’s Top 40 Under 40. In 2026, he followed his sister’s lead by being appointed Honorary Lieutenant Colonel for the King’s Own Calgary Regiment. 

Interestingly, all 3 of them - father Moni, daughter Manjit and son Ravinder – have been bestowed with Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, for contributing to their communities. 

Despite their different paths, both point back to the same place. 

Calgary, they both note, offers something difficult to replicate in larger centres. It allows for connection, visibility and the opportunity to emerge organically. It is a place where relationships can still be built directly, without layers of separation. 

“I think Calgary is the right size city,” Ravinder says. “We had natural connections and networks that gave us an opportunity for success.” 

It is also a place they have chosen to stay. 

What Comes Next 

Their children are growing up with a different set of circumstances, but with similar exposure. They see the business, the decision making the trade-offs. They are part of the environment, even if their paths are not yet defined. 

“They learn by osmosis,” Ravinder says of his two daughters, 11 and 6. 

There is no expectation that they will follow in the same footsteps, but there is a shared belief in the importance of education. 

“Post-secondary education is extremely important,” says Manjit, who has two daughters, 16 and 13. “Not just for knowledge, but for the life skills.” 

Still, when Manjit’s eldest daughter recently toured campus with Ravinder, he admits there was a quiet hope that engineering might follow. But, by the end of the visits to both Schulich and Haskayne, she had something else in mind. 

“She told me, ‘Sorry, Uncle,” Ravinder recalls with a smile, “I think I want to go into finance.’” 

It is a small moment, but one that reflects something larger. The environment is there. The exposure is there. The outcome is still their own to decide. It’s what comes after that is less certain, and intentionally so. 

“Where you think you’re going at 18 or 20 is rarely where you end up,” Manjit says. 

Careers shift. Interests evolve. Opportunities appear where they were not expected. What matters is having the foundation to adapt. 

Moni Minhas arrived in Calgary without a network or a clear road map, only a willingness to start something. Nearly 50 years later, that decision continues to shape generations of his family, not in identical ways, but in connected ways. 

A shared beginning. Different paths. All built here.